FUN WITH ROMAN NUMERALS
David A. Adler
Illustrated by Edward Miller III
About the Book
Page IV. Super Bowl XLV. Built in MMVII. Roman numerals are
everywhere: on clocks, in books, and on buildings. But what do
Roman numerals mean, and how do you use them?
Suggested Classroom Activities
Grades
1-5
Mathematics
Roman Numerals Game—Students can
work in pairs. Each student can write an
Arabic numeral on a sheet of paper and then
his/her partner can write the corresponding
Roman numeral. The students can take
turns creating numbers and continue for 10
to 15 minutes for extended practice. This can
also be done in reverse, with the student
writing the Roman numeral first and the
partner writing the Arabic numeral.
Roman Numerals Diary—Students can
create their own “Roman Numerals Diary.”
They can search for Roman numerals used
in various places, such as book page
numbers, copyright dates, watches and
clocks, ancient coins, sundials, chapters in
books, film sequels (e.g., Rocky III), credits
at the end of TV shows or movies,
cornerstones of buildings, crossword puzzle
clues, events (e.g., Super Bowl XX), and in
other places they may discover on their own.
For each entry they should record: 1) the
date they found it; 2) where they found it;
3) the Roman numeral; 4) the corresponding
Arabic numeral. (Hint: They should number
their pages with Roman numerals.) They can
add illustrations if they choose to do so.
Class Birthday Book—Students can
convert
their
birthdays
to
Roman
numerals—for example, August 20, 1937,
would become XX August MCMXXXVII.
They can write the “Roman” birthday at the
top of a page and the Arabic equivalent at
the bottom. In between they can draw a selfportrait and include their name. These can
be compiled into a book in chronological
order.
Class Address Book—Students can
convert their home addresses to Roman
numerals—for example, 3422 Elm Street
would become MMMCDXXII Elm Street.
They can write the information on a sheet of
paper, showing the Roman and Arabic
equivalents, along with an illustration of
where they live; and these can be compiled
into a book.
Multiplication Tables—Students can
create their own Roman numerals
charts and practice their multiplication
tables at the same time by recording the
multiplication tables in Roman numerals.
For example, the ‘2s Chart’ would show: II,
IV, VI, VIII, X, XII, XIV, XVI, XVIII, XX, etc.
They can do the same for numbers 3 through
12. They can do this individually or in
partners or small groups.
Art
Students can search Google Images for
pictures of ancient Rome. Some key words
to enter are: Roman soldiers, Roman
chariots,
Roman
costumes,
Roman
buildings, Roman jewelry, Roman coins, etc.
They can compare their findings with the
illustrations by Edward Miller III in Fun
with Roman Numerals.
Students can find books about ancient Rome
in their school or public library and compare
the illustrations with those in David Adler’s
book. They can also search for Roman
numerals in the book illustrations.
Holiday House • 425 Madison Avenue • New York, NY 10017
www.holidayhouse.com
3.09
Literature
Students can find and read other books by author David A. Adler and discuss what other subjects
he has written about. Are most of his books fiction or nonfiction?
Students can search for other books about numerals, number systems, and counting in their
school or public library.
Online Resources
http://literacy.kent.edu/Minigrants/Cinci/romanchart.htm • Presents a Roman numerals
chart showing 1 to 100 with examples from 500 to 900.
www.math.wichita.edu/history/topics/num-sys.html • Information and charts of the Inca,
Maya, Egyptian, Greek, and Babylonian number systems.
http://mathforum.org/alejandre/numerals.html • Presents links to information on many
number systems—from Drexel University School of Education.
http://www.romannumerals.co.uk/roman-numerals/numerals-history.html • The history
and use of Roman numerals. Click on chart to see Roman numerals from 1 to 5,000.
http://42explore.com/number.htm • Presents a wealth of information and links to number
systems from a variety of cultures throughout history.
For Further Reading
Calculator Riddles by David A. Adler, illustrated by Cynthia Fisher
Fraction Fun by David A. Adler, illustrated by Nancy Tobin
How Tall, How Short, How Faraway by David A. Adler, illustrated by Nancy Tobin
Of Numbers and Stars: The Story of Hypatia by D. Anne Love, illustrated by Pam Paparone
Visit www.holidayhouse.com for more math books from Holiday House!
About the Author and Illustrator
David A. Adler is a former math teacher and beloved author of more than a hundred children’s
books. He enjoys helping kids understand that math can be easy and fun too. Learn more about
David at www.davidaadler.com.
Edward Miller III writes a Roman numeral whenever he signs his name. He is an author,
illustrator, and designer of many books, including The Tooth Book: A Guide to Healthy Teeth and
Gums and The Monster Health Book: A Guide To Eating Healthy, Being Active & Feeling Great
For Monsters & Kids!. Visit him online at www.edmiller.com.
FUN WITH ROMAN NUMERALS
David A. Adler • Illustrated by Edward Miller III
978-0-8234-2060-5
Classroom activities prepared by Sandy Schuckett, school library consultant.
Holiday House • 425 Madison Avenue • New York, NY 10017
www.holidayhouse.com
3.09
Math Solutions Lesson from the Classroom
Great Estimations
A Lesson for Grade 3
Maryann Wickett
Featured in Math Solutions Online Newsletter, Issue 37
Overview of Lesson
In this lesson, the marbles and beans, along with the book Great Estimations by Bruce
Goldstone, are used to provide students with an opportunity to explore and apply
strategies for estimation. Also, collections of grid paper with different-sized grids,
measuring cups of various sizes, a few unifix cubes, and balance scales and masses
provide engaging estimation tools for students.
Preparation
Before class, place one cup of kidney beans in each quart-size sandwich bag, filling
enough bags for one bag per pair of students. Place the bags of beans in a large paper
bag along with a pint-size and quart-size jar of marbles. Make sure you’ve counted the
marbles in each jar.
Materials
• quart-size zip top sandwich bags, 1 per pair of students
• kidney beans, 1 cup per pair of students
• pint-size jar of marbles
• quart-size jar of marbles
• large paper bag
• the children’s book Great Estimations by Bruce Goldstone (Square Fish, 2010)
• collections of grid paper (different-sized grids such as inch, half-inch, centimeter),
measuring cups (various sizes), unifix cubes, and balance scales and masses
© 2010 Math Solutions, mathsolutions.com. Reproducible for one teacher’s classroom use only.
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Great Estimations grade 3, continued
Lesson Outline
Focus or Warm-Up
1. Place the large paper bag on a table. Pull the pint-sized jar of marbles from the bag. Hold
it so all students can see it. Ask students, “About how many marbles would you estimate
are in the jar? To estimate means to make your best guess.”
2. Listen as students make various guesses out loud. Write on the board Estimates and
beneath it record the suggestions. This might inspire a few additional estimates.
3. Ask students to share their reasoning.
From Maryann’s Classroom:
In my class, Tuheen shared, “Some marbles are hidden so I don’t think I can make a good
guess. I think there are more than twenty-three marbles because I could get about ten
marbles in a handful and I know there are more than two handfuls in the jar. Two tens equal
twenty so there must be more than twenty-three. But I don’t know how many handfuls
there could be. I was trying to think of how many of my fists could be in the jar, then I
remembered that my fist is bigger than the handful so that won’t work.”
Isabela shared, “I tried to picture the marbles if I dumped them out. It would be a big
mess and it didn’t help me think about how many, only about the mess!”
Introduction
4. After a moment, say something like this to your students, “Today we’re going to explore a
book about estimating called Great Estimations by Bruce Goldstone. As I read the book,
listen carefully for strategies you could use to estimate. When you hear a strategy, tell me
and I’ll record it on the board. Later, we’ll use one of the strategies to help us estimate the
number of marbles in the jar. Finally, you’ll have the chance to work with a partner to make
some estimates.”
5. Begin by reading aloud and sharing the illustrations on pages 3, 4, and 5.
© 2010 Math Solutions, mathsolutions.com. Reproducible for one teacher’s classroom use only.
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Great Estimations grade 3, continued
From Maryann’s Classroom:
Yainid shared the first strategy. “We have to see what ten of something looks like, then try
to figure out how many tens.” I recorded Yainid’s suggestion on the board.
Tait said, “Hey, Yainid’s idea is sort of like Tuheen’s idea. He thought about ten marbles,
like the book says, but then he couldn’t figure out how many tens.” Several students
nodded in agreement.
6. Continue reading and recording estimation strategies as students notice them. Following
is the list of strategies students may suggest:
Possible Strategies
• Find what ten looks like.
• Find what one hundred looks like.
• Find what one thousand looks like.
• Compare what you are estimating to ten, one hundred, or one thousand.
• Make equal rows.
• Weighing.
• Clump counting.
• Box and count.
• Layers.
© 2010 Math Solutions, mathsolutions.com. Reproducible for one teacher’s classroom use only.
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Great Estimations grade 3, continued
Exploration 1
7. Ask students to choose strategies from the list to estimate the number of marbles in the
jar. Record their reasoning on the board as appropriate.
From Maryann’s Classroom:
Gaby thought making rows of ten would be helpful. I asked her to make a row of ten.
Kaitlin said, “I noticed that when Gaby took out ten marbles it made a difference in the
level of marbles in the jar. I think if we took out another ten marbles the jar would be about
one-fourth empty.” Garrett chimed in, “If Kaitlin is right, we could multiply twenty by four.
I used twenty because that would be how many marbles were taken out of the jar for it to
be one-fourth empty. I multiplied by four because there are four-fourths in the whole jar.
That would be a good estimate of how many marbles were in the jar when it was full.”
I asked Kaitlin to try her idea for us by taking out ten more marbles to make a total of
twenty marbles removed from the jar. The jar looked like it was more than three-fourths
full so Kaitlin took out six more marbles for a total of twenty-six marbles. We agreed that
it now looked about three-quarters full or one-fourth empty. Kaitlin said, “Using Garrett’s
idea, I think there are one hundred four marbles in the jar. Twenty-six plus twenty-six
equals fifty-two so there are fifty-two marbles in one-half. Fifty-two and fifty-two equal one
hundred four marbles.” I recorded on the board:
26 + 26 = 52
52 + 52 = 104
Austin said, “I agree with Kaitlin, but I changed twenty-six to twenty-five by subtracting
one. I know that four twenty-fives is one hundred. It’s like quarters in a dollar. Then I added
four more because I changed twenty-six to twenty-five. I have to put back the one. Four
times one equals four. One hundred plus four equals one hundred four.” I recorded:
26 – 1 = 25
4 × 25 = 100
© 2010 Math Solutions, mathsolutions.com. Reproducible for one teacher’s classroom use only.
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Great Estimations grade 3, continued
4×1=4
100 + 4 = 104
Safaa shared, “In my brain, I changed twenty-six to twenty plus six. Then I counted, 20,
40, 60, 80. I put the eighty in my memory. Then I counted 6, 12, 18, 24. I took the eighty
out of my memory and added eighty and twenty-four. That’s one hundred four.” I recorded
on the board:
26 = 20 + 6
20, 40, 60, 80
6, 12, 18, 24
80 + 24 = 104
8. Refocus the students’ attention on the initial estimates shared. Ask the students, “How
does our class estimate compare with the first estimates shared?”
From Maryann’s Classroom:
In my class, our initial estimates were 1000, 23, 500, 145, 1,000,000, 779, 333, and 2057.
Our class estimate was 104. Tim said, “Most of the first estimates are a lot bigger than
what we just figured out.”
“I just picked a number,” said Rocio.
Jose offered, “When we had a way to think about it we could make a better estimate than
just picking a number.”
9. Finally, tell the students how many marbles you had counted when you filled the jar. To
verify your count and to reinforce the value of using a strategy to make an estimation,
count the marbles by placing them into groups of ten.
From Maryann’s Classroom:
I had counted 112 marbles in the jar. My class counted 11 groups of ten with two extra to
figure this out. The class strategy for estimating 104 marbles got them very close to the
actual total of 112 marbles.
© 2010 Math Solutions, mathsolutions.com. Reproducible for one teacher’s classroom use only.
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Great Estimations grade 3, continued
Exploration 2
10. Next, pull the quart-sized jar of marbles from the bag and hold it up. Ask, “Here is a quartsized jar of marbles. How can you use what you know about the number of marbles in a
pint to help you estimate the number of marbles in a quart?”
From Maryann’s Classroom:
Malachi shared, “There are two pints in one quart. So if we know how many in a pint
we can just double that to get a good estimate for how many in a quart.” Using this
information, the class quickly concluded that a quart jar would hold about 224 marbles: 2
× 112 = 224.
Exploration 3
11. Show students the bags of kidney beans, explaining that they’ll be working with a partner
to use a strategy for estimation from the book to estimate the number of beans in their
bag.
12. Hold up the estimation tools: grid paper, measuring cups, unifix cubes, and balances and
masses. Ask: How might these tools help you carry out the strategies listed on the board?
From Maryann’s Classroom:
In my class, the students shared that the grid paper could be used with the box-andcount strategy, the balance and masses could help with the weighing strategy, and
the measuring cups could help with thinking about how many tens or hundreds fit in a
measuring cup or even a unifix cube if the items were small like popcorn or lentils.
Katie had a new idea. She suggested that we could use the small geoboard rubber bands
as a way to help with the clumping strategy. The class agreed this was a good idea and
geoboard rubber bands were added to the estimation tools.
© 2010 Math Solutions, mathsolutions.com. Reproducible for one teacher’s classroom use only.
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Great Estimations grade 3, continued
13. Give partners time to work together on recording their estimates and notes about what
tool they used to make their estimate. When students finish, ask them to record their
information on a class chart:
Estimation Tool
Estimate
groups of ten to figure 104
how many in ¼ pint
Summary
14. Gather students for a discussion. Focus the discussion on the similarity of the estimates.
Each bag had approximately the same number of kidney beans. In most cases, the
estimates were similar even though partner pairs used different estimation tools. This
usually delights the students.
From Maryann’s Classroom:
The students in my class concluded that differences in the estimations came from varying
sizes of beans, how precisely the beans filled an area of measurement, how carefully
people measured and counted, and how the number of beans in the bags varied.
Rylie asked, “Can we do this again tomorrow using different bags of stuff?” I nodded my
head. I had already prepared bags of objects: quart-size bags of lima beans, cotton balls,
teddy bear counters, macaroni, real pennies, and popcorn, along with snack-size bags of
plastic counters, cotton swabs, base ten unit cubes, paper clips, and lentils.
© 2010 Math Solutions, mathsolutions.com. Reproducible for one teacher’s classroom use only.
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